The San Francisco 49ers are going to be making some additions to the quarterback position this offseason, and they will be far from the only team. John Clayton decided to take a look at teams with question marks and project out a 2017 quarterback for each of them. And for the San Francisco 49ers, he came up with an out of the box idea: Sign Tyrod Taylor and Nick Foles.
He projected five teams with new QBs. They include the Bills (Mike Glennon), Bears (Tony Romo), Browns (Jimmy Garoppolo), and Jets (Jay Cutler). Clayton offered up the following analysis in discussing the 49ers quarterback situation:
If Taylor leaves Buffalo, where could he go? One option is San Francisco, where Chip Kelly is expected to continue as the coach for a second season, even if the 49ers fire general manager Trent Baalke. Kelly likes Kaepernick, who likely will void his contract after the season, so there's a chance he could come back at the right price. But I think Taylor makes sense for Kelly and the 49ers as a quarterback with running ability whom Kelly can try to build his offense around.
Kelly could also bring in Foles, who will almost certainly be released by the Chiefs because he's owed $10.7 million. That's far too expensive for a backup. Foles would be solid insurance for the 49ers in case Taylor doesn't work out. Under Kelly in 2013, Foles had an incredible 27 touchdown passes and two interceptions with the Eagles.
Taylor certainly brings the running ability, but his completion percentage has come down a couple spots this season from 63.7 percent to 61.2 percent. It’s still better than what the 49ers have been able to do, with Colin Kaepernick at 55.5 percent and Blaine Gabbert at 56.9 percent.
This is only Taylor’s second season as a starter. He signed a five-year, $90 million extension this past offseason, but it includes an option for 2017 that gives the Bills an easy out. The Bills face numerous questions, including whether or not Rex Ryan will be back next year. And whether or not Ryan gets fired, Taylor’s future remains up in the air.
Foles is an easy mention given his history with Kelly. Of course, Kelly and the Eagles also traded him away, and Foles has not been the same since his one big year under Kelly. Would the 49ers bring him in, or try and just re-sign Blaine Gabbert and/or Christian Ponder? And would Colin Kaepernick be back in the picture?
The 49ers need to draft a quarterback, but they could some kind of veteran bridge rather than just dumping a rookie right in the mix. There is not a clear day one starting QB in this year’s draft. There’s no need to ruin a young quarterback by forcing him into action too quickly.